Chapter 01 · 4000 – 3100 BCE
Uruk Period
The birth of the city, the birth of writing.
~3100 BCE · Anonymous 235782 — private: anonymous, unlocated
CUSAS 31, 162
In plain English
This is a ledger of items belonging to an institution. The first lines are lost. The next entries list a jar and a wooden item, then 2 units of sheep and barley for the lord (EN). After a break there are 3 units of shearing or wool plucking, a single item of an unidentified kind, and one entry marked NAM2 RU. Next come 2 units of barley for the lord and one unit marked AN. Some more text is lost. The back of the tablet gives the totals for the household: 20 under the lord, 13 under ŠU, and 33 in all.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse (probably): [...] [...] MEN, ŠAGAN-jar, GIŠ (wood/tool) 2 (units): sheep, barley — EN (the lord / chief official) [...] 3(N57): UR4 (plucking/shearing) 1: ZATU850 ZATU850 1: NAM2, RU 2: barley, EN; 1(N04): AN [...] Reverse (probably), totals: 20: EN — AB-institution (the AB variant written with a double grain sign and N04 inside) 13: ŠU — AB-institution [3]3 (total): AB-institution”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · Anonymous 386388 — private: anonymous, unlocated
CUSAS 31, 166
In plain English
This is a running count. On the front: 2 for an entry that mentions SZUM and PA, 2 for the SANGA administrator, 3 for GA, then an entry with 1 whose label is lost, and an entry lost completely. The second column lists 5 for DU and TE, 3 for KAB, 3 and then 2 for entries marked with the triangle sign, and 3 for SUG5. Two more entries at the bottom of the column are broken off. On the back, one total (14 or more) is partly lost. It is followed by a total of 30 marked DUR, and the triangle sign stands alone at the bottom, probably as a heading or label for the account.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse, column i 1. 2 (units): SZUM, PA, U4(?), E, ZATU659 2. 2 (units): SANGA official, |ZATU737×DI| 3. 3 (units): GA 4. 1 (unit) [...]: [...] 5. [...]: [...] Obverse, column ii 6. 5 (units): DU(?), TE 7. 3 (units): KAB(?) [...] 8. 3 (units): ZATU659, [one unidentified sign] 9. 2 (units): ZATU659 10. 3 (units): SUG5, [one unidentified sign] 11. [...]: [...] 12. [...]: [...] Reverse 13. 1 ten, 4 (units) [...] [one unidentified sign] [...] 14. 2 tens, 10 (units): DUR 15. (blank before the sign) ZATU659”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · Anonymous 270811 — private: anonymous, unlocated
CUSAS 31, 168
In plain English
The first two entries record amounts, now lost, of two types of vessel: the ordinary SILA3 jar and a variant marked with the MUD sign. The next entry is intact and lists 15 SUHUR fish. After that comes a group of signs that seem to name officials or categories: UMUN2, a "great" one, a "small" one, and a PA. The number that went with them is broken off. Another broken entry lists MUD and IB. The last line starts with the signs SAL PAP, perhaps a person or an office, and the rest is lost. Nothing on the back of the tablet can be read.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse: 1. [...] a SILA3-vessel 2. [...] a SILA3+MUD-vessel 3. 15 (1 ten + 5 ones) SUHUR fish 4. [...] UMUN2, GAL ("great"), TUR ("small"), PA 5. [...] MUD, IB 6. SAL PAP [...] (Reverse: no legible signs survive; the surface is worn and cracked)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · X.3.228 — Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CUSAS 31, 170
In plain English
The first entries are lost. What survives is a short tally: one jar; three units of something marked NA plus a sign we can't identify; two units connected with an EN, a high official, and a sign associated with Šuruppak. After another gap comes an entry ending in IB, then five rams, one unit of an item we can't identify (sign ZATU676), and finally an entry for KIŠ whose number is broken off. The back of the tablet shows nothing readable.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Obverse) [...] [...] 1 jar (DUG~a) 3: NA~a X (unidentified sign) 2: EN~a ŠURUPPAK~a [...] [...] IB~a 5 rams (UDUNITA~a) 1: ZATU676~b [...] KIŠ (The rest is lost or uninscribed; the reverse shows no legible signs.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · X.3.224 — Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CUSAS 31, 189
In plain English
This is a tally of units assigned to different entries. Five each go to several entries headed by the EN (the lord or chief official), one of them tied to the household. Two more entries of five have unreadable labels. Next come 4 for the MAR entry, 5 for the field, 4 for NAGA and 2 for UB. One line is lost. After it, single units go to MUŠ3 and to ŠE-NAM2. On the back, the scribe gives a grand total of 91 for the household, and the rest of that heading is broken.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 5 (units): EN (lord/official) […] 5: house (E2) DA 5: EN, SAG (head?) 5: EN, DU 5: (unread sign) 5: (unread sign) 4: MAR […] 5: GAN2 (field) 4: NAGA 2: UB […]: […] 1: MUŠ3 1: ŠE+NAM2 Reverse (total) 91 (1 sixty, 3 tens, 1 unit): house (E2) […]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · MRAH O.4995 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
MRAH O.4995
In plain English
The account lists 36 items under the heading AL, then 8 small or young ones of the EN class, then 7, 1 and 22 small ones graded by the 'day' sign with one, two and three marks. That makes 74 in all. The final line records the total and adds a string of signs that probably names the responsible offices or officials, one of them perhaps connected with salt. The dense front of the tablet is well preserved but was not included in the transliteration, so it is not rendered here.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Reverse (the only part transliterated): 1. 36: AL 2. 8: EN~a, small/young (TUR) 3. 7: U4 with 1 mark, small/young (TUR) 4. 1: U4 with 2 marks, small/young (TUR) 5. 22: U4 with 3 marks, small/young (TUR) 6. (Total) 74: 1(N57) 2(N57); MUN~a1, SU~a, PAP~a, NIM~b2, DARA3~c×KAR2, AL(?) [The heavily inscribed obverse and edges visible in the photograph are not transliterated and are left untranslated here.]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · MS 2357 — Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway
MS 2357
In plain English
An account of six entries. SZUBUR SZA3 is credited with 1, MASZ KUR ZATU773 with 7, and EN IB PIRIG with 3. SANGA is credited with 1, plus a small extra fraction or sub-unit. SZUBUR ZATU795 LAM is credited with 5 and KASZ DA with 7. One more line at the bottom of the front is broken off. On the back the scribe totals everything as 24, under the heading BA NIM, which may mean 'allotted' or 'distributed' and possibly refers to a place or person called NIM.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1: 1 (unit): SZUBUR SZA3~a 2: 7 (units): MASZ KUR~a ZATU773~a 3: 3 (units): EN~a IB~a PIRIG~b1 4: 1 (unit), 3 (N57): SANGA~a 5: 5 (units): SZUBUR ZATU795 LAM~b 6: 7 (units): KASZ~c DA~a 7: [...] (broken) Reverse Total: 24 (2 tens + 4 units): BA NIM~a”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · MS 2358 — Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway
MS 2358
In plain English
Six people or offices each receive one unit of grain. They are listed by short names that no one can yet read securely, one of them written with signs for 'sheep' and 'donkey'. On the back, the tablet records a total of three larger units of barley and names the group of signs that also appears on the front, probably the official or office in charge of the payout. The scribe records only amounts and names, with no verbs.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse, column i: 1. 1 (unit of grain): ŠU TUR PAP (personal name or designation) 2. 1: ŠE SI RU 3. 1: BU ŠE DU 4. 1: ŠE X AB₂ (one sign unread) 5. 1: UDU ANŠE 6. 1: AN EŠDA ŠE Obverse, column ii: 7. KU₃ KI A PA (heading or responsible official/institution) Reverse: 8. 3 (tens-unit): barley. 9. PA KI KU₃ A”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry